


you broke me first.

by sammthebitch



Series: Soul Songs [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Badass Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Badass Sabine Cheng, Dragon Kagami Tsurugi | Ryuko, Episode: s03 Papa-Garou | Weredad, F/F, F/M, Fox Alya Césaire | Rena Rouge, Hot Mess Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Oblivious Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Pig Rose Lavillant, Protective Luka Couffaine, Protective Tom Dupain, References to Weredad, Revenge, Sassy Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Snake Luka Couffaine | Viperion, Tiger Juleka Couffaine, Turtle Nino Lahiffe | Carapace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:40:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24494401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sammthebitch/pseuds/sammthebitch
Summary: Adrien did a lot of dumb things in his past: shoplifting, keying his dad's car in rebellion, and a bunch of other small tarnishes to his Agreste name. He didn't think it'd ever come to this; he didn't think she'd retaliate.Marinette never believed that she was supposed to have a relationship that lasted; her past relationships proved that fact. When she met the blonde supermodel, she went in believing that the paparazzi would be convincing enough for a public breakup, if not in the beginning then more towards the middle. (If you could sectionize their relationship like that.) She didn't think he'd do it; she didn't think she had the guts to react.Luka didn't think he'd fall in love with a girl who was in a relationship, yet it happened and he couldn't do anything about it. He fought himself, his heart and his mind for so long before things were broken, words were thrown and a song was made. He didn't think Marinette was capable of this much destruction; he didn't think she'd respond the way she did.~sometimes what you're looking for comes when you're not looking at all.~
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Kagami Tsurugi, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Sabine Cheng/Tom Dupain
Series: Soul Songs [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1750849
Comments: 18
Kudos: 51





	you broke me first.

**Author's Note:**

> So I saw this story (I forgot who the author was, I don't know why I can't remember) that used the tiger kwami, mouse kwami, ox kwami and pig kwami on four users who were never used before. Roaar (Tiger) went to Juleka, Daizzi (Pig) went to Rose, Mullo (Mouse) went to Mylene and Stompp (Ox) went to Ivan. In this story, I'll only use Roaar/Juleka and Daizzi/Rose. They'll be background characters that play important parts. 
> 
> Song used: "you broke me first" by Tate McRae.

The stage was illuminated in the back of a small pub, only meant for small gatherings; the heavy crowd and stomping feet outside the curtain was enough to bring someone's mood up but hers wasn't. She couldn't think about anything besides golden halos, green eyes, and black cat ears wiggling in anticipation as she stood behind the microphone, waiting for her introduction and for the world to see who she was. After all, she was known for her song _writing_ , not her actual singing. She felt a hand on her elbow, turning to smile at the man beside her as he reminded her that she could just close her eyes and think she was in her house, singing to herself. She shook her head and cleared her throat, accepting a water given to her by one of the stagehands. After throwing back the glass like one of many shots she'd had the night before, she stood tall and grinned as the curtain began coming up; her time was now, and no one could hinder her. 

_Two years earlier..._

Adrien Agreste, worldwide famous supermodel, face of the Gabriel brand. Girls were flopping off of him like dolphins jumping out of the ocean and back in. Brand deals were thrown at him constantly like basketballs making it in the hoop everytime. Prompts were given around like essays from an English teacher (you guessed it, **constantly**.) He never thought he'd be in this position; at his best friend's bachelor party as they lived it up at the most famous club in town. (You had to go in style of course, especially when you were going to marry the most famous journalist of all time.) Adrien's all black outfit helped him stay inconspicuous for as long as possible but it was only a matter of time before his sparkling green eyes and blinding blond hair was recognized by fans. (The most famous club called for the most outrageous amount of fans possible.) The VIP rope that sectioned Adrien in with his bachelor party certainly helped, but there was only so much Gorilla could do to hold off the horde. 

A midnight blue bun caught Adrien's eye as he looked around, possibly for a way out in the most inconspicuous way possible. (That didn't happen.) The glittering red dress swished right in front of him as if it was hypnotizing him, and maybe it was because he definitely couldn't look away. The woman appeared and disappeared at all angles, making Adrien think she was just a figment of his imagination. He was tranced while walking after her, wanting to know who she was and what she was doing here. Plagg peeked out from Adrien's shirt pocket and grumbled when he noticed that his holder wasn't really paying attention. Dropping back in before Adrien bumped into another girl, Plagg smirked as he heard Adrien apologize profusely and explain that he was looking for a certain girl with midnight blue hair and a blood-red glittering dress. Apparently the girl knew who he was talking about because Adrien was dragged along to another quiet section of the club, where he saw the girl in question talk to...was that the bride-to-be? 

Adrien plastered on a grin and tapped the girl's elbow (his "guide" had long since gone back to her group of friends), trying to get her attention without seeming too into her (was he failing at that? _**definitely**_.) The girl finally turned around and her eyes widened, jaw dropping and hands fluttering beside her as if she was looking for something to hold but couldn't find anything. She decided to just cling onto the sides of her dress and tried to pick her jaw back up, resulting in words being stammered out that he couldn't understand. He stood there patiently, understanding what state she was in (she was definitely a fangirl..just not the types he's seen) and silently empathizing with her. The bride-to-be at her elbow was smirking as she witnessed the spluttering and whining, before finally stepping in and helping the girl get her mouth working. The first thing to come out of her mouth was, "A-a-a-drien Ag-agreste? Nice to yeet mou-- wait," she shook her head and groaned before gritting her teeth and getting out, "nice to meet you." She stuck her hand out and smiled a shaky smile at him, while he obliged and gave her a nice handshake, his own model grin plastered on his face from years of practice.

They got to talking pretty fast, starting with why the bride-to-be was in the same club as the groom-to-be's bachelor party. The only thing she had to say to that was, "the girls couldn't be here in time for my bachelorette party so we just decided to have a nice night out and came here. Coincidence, ain't it?" The girl beside her giggled in response and nodded with an eye roll, confirming the statement. She obviously knew that the bride-to-be knew about the bachelor party and suggested that they come here in case something was going down, but obviously nothing was and they'd just decided to stay; why not? They had nothing else to do and if moping was their only other option...you know what happens right? Right.

The night winded down, clubgoers leaving as fast as they came in because they needed to get home and needed to get a taxi as soon as possible. Soon, only Adrien, the mysterious girl, the bride-to-be and the groom-to-be were left standing outside the club, chatting while they waited for Adrien's bodyguard to pull up to drop them off. The girls had taken their shoes off and were dancing around on the sidewalk, still a little drunk from the spicy drinks they'd decided to down last minute. Adrien and the groom rolled their eyes and smiled at the girls' antics, with a teasing shove delivered to Adrien's shoulder. 

That was the start.

The relationship progressed, giving Adrien time to process what he was doing when he brought her out in front of the public whenever he had an event. Her arm would be wrapped around his elbow, like an old-fashioned couple and her makeup would gleam in the evening sun and her dress would swish behind her (long dresses were _in_ ) and she used her materials and the idea of the event to practice sewing long dresses, with varying necklines and some with sleeves, some with no sleeves and different styles. Their apartment was filled with different fabrics and cloths, a sewing machine took center stage and mannequins were placed in a circle around the machine, giving enough viewing space to see and critique each dress. 

This particular event was the "Golden Opportunity" for her designs to be shown off, as the models in the show were wearing varied copies of her own designs. She had a smile plastered on her face as she glanced over at her models and the announcer stating that she was the "up-and-coming fashion designer studying under Gabriel Agreste" and the first ever fashion designer to break away from a brand as big as his to branch out and create her own brand: **_M i r a c u l o u s._** She'd taken the criticism with nonchalantness and pride, standing by her designs and decisions, and as she looked at her models and saw them chatting with each other, she knew that she'd done the right thing; allowing her models to express themselves in this way had given her a leg up in the show and had gotten her a generous applause, even a standing ovation. She took it all in stride and as soon as she got back in the green room where Adrien was waiting, she gave him her brightest smile and leaped into his arms, thanking him for all his support and his encouragement. 

He patted her back in response...not wanting to break it to her that Gabriel was pressuring him to breakup with her, and he was actually going to go along with it. They'd talked about defying Gabriel since Adrien was not in his control (really) anymore, but this was too much for him. He couldn't just _not_ listen to the only family member left. Anything for the brand...right?

* * *

_Present time... ___

Since that night at the bar, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was captivated. Her whole heart was the home of Adrien Agreste, and her whole body ached to do anything and everything for him, not believing at first that this was the first relationship where it seemed like he actually cared about her. That was the first mistake, it seemed. And only many more followed in the years that passed, _it was only two years, wasn't it?_ , only making her more wary and cautious. So, really, she should've seen it coming. She should've seen the look in his eyes when he pulled away from the hug. She should've known it was about to end, because she'd trained her body and mind to _know_. How could she not have seen it? How could she have let herself become so blinded by the false love? How could she have let her best friend rope her into this? None of the answers showed themselves, only angering her more as her heel click-clacked against the floor as she tapped her foot. He hadn't said anything yet; she wondered why since this was his job to do. 

__

She didn't really know what he was going to say but later on she'd say she expected it. She'd say that despite all the work they'd put in, she'd expected him to be the one to slice the relationship in half. She'd say that she expected him to be the one to stab her in the back. Her face was impassive as he finally got his jaw working, and despite the calm, placid look on her face, she was raging inside. Her insides were twisting and turning as the butterflies that once made their home in her stomach fought to get back out through her throat. She couldn't speak, she didn't have anything to say as he explained that his father thought she wasn't the right "material" _, how dare he use that word?,_ to date his son. She suspected it was because she'd had the gall to break off from one of the most well-known brands in all of Paris, but she knew it was because Gabriel still had all the control on his son and he'd do whatever he wanted with it. 

__

His lips finally stopped moving and his eyes shown with an immense sadness that it almost made her feel sorry for him; it almost made her feel as if her feelings were a little too harsh and that she should take his into consideration. She didn't; she couldn't. Not after what he'd just done. She saw out of the corner of her eye his hands moving towards hers, probably to comfort her even though she couldn't feel anything. Without hesitation, she yanked her hands back and plastered them to her sides, not wanting anything to do with the guy in front of her anymore. The hurt look in his eyes almost made her crumble (she isn't a heartless bitch, after all) but she persevered and shut her eyes tight. A couple tears burst through the dam, fighting the squeezing she was doing to keep them in. She let out a shaky sigh, wiped her face and pointed towards the door. "Get out." He tried protesting, but the look in her eyes must've made him rethink his decision and the next thing she knew he was outside and she was slumping against the door, cradling her face in her hands.

__

She allowed herself that one moment of silence and depression before she gathered her feelings and self as she stood up and shakily reached a hand out to the door handle, twisting it and turning it before finally pulling the door open. She furiously wiped at her eyes to clear her blurry vision and revelled in the cool air wafting through the hallway. She sighed one more time before walking in the direction of the door, wanting to get out of the building as soon as possible. As she rushed through the many doors and hallways the building provided, she bumped into one of her models: a close friend, Rose Lavillant. The pink dress she was wearing was a little rumpled and the pink heels were teetering this way and that as Rose tried to stay balanced from the run-in. Marinette apologized profusely before helping Rose regain her balance and smooth the dress down. Juleka Couffaine was not far behind, standing regal and tall in her orange and black dress, matching nicely with the dusky black of Juleka's hair and the sunset orange of the highlight that ran down the side of Juleka's parting. Roaar and Daizzi were hiding in Juleka's hair and Rose's purse, but Marinette knew they were wriggling around trying to get comfy based on Rose's and Juleka's apparent discomfort.

__

"Are you okay Mari? You seemed a little preoccupied." Rose was the first one to speak, laying a hand on Marinette's shoulder in comfort. The girl in question just let out a soft smile and patted the hand before moving back a bit, dislodging the hand and letting it flop to Rose's side. "Yes, Rose, I'm fine." Rose didn't believe it, rightfully so, and decided to invite Marinette to the _Liberty_ for a little afterparty of their own. After a little complaining from Marinette and reassurance from Juleka, the three girls made their way to the parked car on the other side of the lot and squished inside while a certain blue-haired Luka Couffaine revved the engine and peeled out of the lot, leaving a trace of grey smoke in their wake. 

__

Marinette let out a small giggle as she watched through the window how fast they were going, and didn't pay attention to the small conversation Juleka, Rose, and Luka were having about her wellbeing and what had been going on. Three simultaneous _ding_ 's rang out in the silence that had followed the conversation and Marinette was the first one to check the already trending headline: "Supermodel Adrien Agreste Dumps CEO of _**M i r a c u l o u s**_ Marinette Dupain-Cheng." She let out a slight growl and groaned when Juleka and Rose turned on her, asking why she hadn't said anything earlier and why she was seething, as if fire was spilling out from Marinette's ears. She let out a breath and told them what had happened, not realizing that Luka was also listening in and that his hands had tightened around the wheel to the point of his hands turning white. Juleka noticed and tried to calm him down, only resulting in his hands loosening the tiniest bit but the tension never leaving his body. 

__

They pulled up to the lot behind the bakery, all getting out of the car and standing there in silence, almost deafening. Luka was the first to reach out to Marinette, wrapping his hand around hers and smiling as she squeezed back. She took her hand back and rubbed it up and down the dress she was still in, the red and black spots looking more formal against Luka's plain blue button down and black trousers. She smiled up at the girls and Luka, already walking towards the inside of the bakery to get changed into more comfortable clothes. Before she could plant one foot in the door, however, Luka grabbed her hand and whispered in her ear: "Don't get too comfy. I have an idea." He grinned at her when she let go and raised an eyebrow, pushing her toward the door and telling her to _get changed, what's stopping you_?

__

She pulled open the door to her room at the top of the stairs, smiling as she stepped foot into her childhood bedroom, glad to see nothing had changed. She grinned at the red and black Miracle Box disguised as one of the many moving boxes Marinette had not gotten around to when she'd first started packing up. She sighed as she walked into her closet, picking out a glittery black dress and matching open-toed sandal heels. She redid her makeup and let her hair down, taking the time to straighten it (not like it needed much straightening) and grabbed her black purse. Tikki settled herself in Marinette's open hair and chirped encouraging words in Marinette's ear as she made her way down the stairs, back towards Luka, Juleka and Rose. They grinned at her as she passed, encouraging her and bringing up her confidence in the process. They made their way to the Liberty, going slow so Marinette wouldn't fall in her heels. 

__

As they walked the gangplank and made their way onto the boat, Marinette tripped and Luka had to catch her, his hand on her elbow as they made their way to the middle of the boat together. The rest of Kitty Section was already there, along with the married Alya and Nino Lahiffe. Mylene was there, clutching Ivan's hand as she smiled at Marinette and surprisingly, Tom and Sabine were also there. She smiled as she saw them but glowered when she saw that Adrien was there as well. Before she could ask what he was doing there he spoke up and said that Tom had invited him based on the success of the fashion show. Not able to argue since the fashion show's success deserved to be celebrated, Marinette just rolled her eyes and averted her gaze back to Luka and the rest of her friends.

__

* * *

__

Luka watched as Marinette made her way through the crowd, chatting up all her friends and catching up with them, having not seen some of them for a long time. His gaze followed her enticing dress as it moved in between the other bodies on the boat, the glitter providing enough light to see since the boat's lights had been shut off in favor of strobe lights and fairy lights. He watched Marinette encounter and pass Adrien as he tried to grab on her hand, perhaps to explain in full why he felt the need to comply with Gabriel in their breakup. She just rolled her eyes at him and yanked her hand away, smiling as she started talking to Rose and Juleka on their modelling experience. 

__

Before he knew it, Luka was pulled up to the stage and Juleka was there, and Rose was stationed at the back-up mic, surprising Luka; if this was a surprise Kitty Section performance, why wasn't Rose at the front and Ivan at the drums? He caught Ivan's eye and raised an eyebrow in question but Ivan just shrugged it off, smirking as he hugged Mylene closer. Juleka, instead of taking the spare guitar that was lying around, stood in front of the keyboard and tested the noise level, cranking it up and notching it down until the perfect level was achieved. She nudged Luka to tune up his guitar and he complied, still not knowing what was going on. Before he could say anything, he noticed a certain black glittering dress make its way to the stage, his eyes trailing up to the smirk on Marinette's face and the scared look she hid in her eyes. 

__

Finally catching on, Luka gave her a thumbs up and told her it was all going to be okay and that she was perfect. Because she was, wasn't she?; she was glamorous and fascinating and wonderstriking, all eyes on her as she took her place in the front. She closed her eyes and centered herself, planting her feet firmly down on the stage as her heels were strewn somewhere across the boat. She ran a hand through her hair as she wrung it out, wanting to release all the nerves before actually doing what she was about to do. A slight smile appeared on her face as Tikki squealed and whispered encouraging words, clinging onto Marinette's shoulder, far enough away to not be seen by the crowd but close enough to Marinette for her to know that Tikki was there. 

__

The bass and keyboard meshed together as the intro, and Rose's voice was the first one to ring out among the silent audience, singing the first background vocal in the song. Marinette prepared herself as she rocked back on her heels, but as she made eye contact with Adrien, her nerves flew away and raw anger landed among the akumas in her stomach, driving her passion and intensity as she started singing.

__

_maybe you don't like talking too much about yourself_

__

_but you shoulda told me that you were thinking 'bout someone else_

__

_you're drunk at a party or maybe it's just that your car broke down_

__

_your phone's been off for a couple months, so you're calling me now_

__

Adrien's eyes widened as he realized what she was singing, the power of her words sinking into the other partygoers as they slowly turned towards him before turning back to the stage to revel in the power and the confidence oozing from the stage as Marinette poured her heart and soul into the song she was singing. Her hands were waving through the air in a sort of butterfly motion, slow and steady as she started off, and Adrien groaned as he realized that this was her way of retaliating to what he did. He expected something, but he didn't expect something like this. Not the raw destruction emanating from Marinette's dress and hair and body. He felt Plagg shudder in his pocket and realized that Plagg could feel the same thing, as if the destruction was an actual thing or had a scent similar to Camembert that it could get Plagg's attention so quickly. He spared a look down and his eyes narrowed as he saw Plagg smirk at him; he realized that Plagg was actually taking fun in his misery but his shoulders slumped as he realized maybe Plagg was right. No apology could fix this; he better just listen to the rest of what was happening before doing anything he would regret. 

__

He caught eye contact with Marinette and almost winced at the raw anger that was simmering behind her seemingly innocent ocean blue eyes. He sighed as he made his way to the makeshift bar, asking Tom (why would Tom be managing a bar? He didn't know but he didn't bother to ask) for a straight whisky. Drowning in his sorrow seemed to be the best option right about now, as he cowered under Marinette's furious gaze.

__

_Now suddenly you're asking for it back_

__

_Could you tell me, where'd you get the nerve?_

__

_Yeah, you say you miss all that we had_

__

_But I don't really care how bad hurts_

__

_When you broke me first_

__

_You broke me first_

__

The last line rang out among the audience, making them shiver at the raw pain and sadness emanating from the last word. Luka was a little concerned for how calmly Marinette was handling this but at the glare from Juleka, he decided not to do anything and to just let it flow. After all, many people dealth with pain differently. The time it took to get over something differed among many different people. For Luka, it took a while and writing some songs before realizing the person wasn't worth it. For Marinette, it was most likely dealing with it silently and putting up a front, dealing with it subtly and deafeningly before breaking down and getting to the core of it. The people in the audience were clapping along to the rhythm, feeling for Marinette as if they were going through the same thing she was just by looking at her. 

__

Luka could almost see the tension flowing away from Marinette's body as she sang, almost as if she was a daughter of Poseidon, unable to get wet under the heavy onslaught of rain. The pure pain emanating from her words flowed through Luka's veins as though they were connected and he felt the anger she was feeling; the song of her heart breaking and being put back together only to repeat as she relived the relationship she had with Adrien. 

__

_Now suddenly you're asking for it back_

__

_Could you tell me, where'd you get the nerve?_

__

_Yeah, you could say you miss all that we had_

__

_But I don't really care how bad it hurts_

__

_When you broke me first_

__

_You broke me first_

__

_(You broke me first)_

__

_You broke me first, ah_

__

The last few notes rung out into the silence before the deafening sound of applause and praise rang out across the boat. Not knowing what to do, Marinette glanced back at Luka before shaking her head and facing the audience, leaning towards the microphone for her last announcement of the night.

__

"You don't know heartbreak until it hits you in the face. You don't know heartbreak until it comes when you most expect it. Because even then it surprises you; even then it makes you feel like putty in the other person's hands, like you were the one at fault for everything that went wrong. Let me tell you one thing: don't ever go into another relationship after getting out of a series of bad ones. It will hurt your mind and your body. It will make you feel like nothing. Especially if you believe every single word that the person says. On the other hand, they might actually mean what they're saying and in that case, take comfort in them and let them take care of you. But if your relationship makes you feel like what I was feeling while on this stage, then it's not worthy of your attention. It's not worth your time. Learn from my mistakes; learn your lesson and try to move on. Live the single life as much as you can before finding the one you can settle down with." She took a deep shaky breath before concluding that she'd said enough for one night; she deserved to relax and enjoy the afterparty for what it was.

__

_**you took away my sunlight, so i learned to glow in the dark.** _

__

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> Oh my god I think that was the longest story I've ever written on this site; for this series. Please please please let me know what you think and if you liked it! I worked so hard and I think it deserves some love.
> 
> (Depending on the response this gets and if enough people think so, this story will get a sequel dealing with the responses to what Marinette said at the end and dealing with how Marinette actually gets through the breakup.)


End file.
